Slide fastener stop assembly

ABSTRACT

A slide fastener having terminal fastener elements reduced in size relative to the remaining fastener elements and two stop members adjacent the terminal fastener elements, each stop member being formed from a mass of fusible material fused onto a slide fastener tape, the reduced terminal fastener elements accommodating the diamond of a slider when the slider engages the stop members to prevent splay of the slide fastener tapes. A method of forming the above described slide fastener including supporting a slide fastener chain to expose the terminal fastener elements, reducing the size of the terminal fastener elements, and fusing a mass of fusible material onto each slide fastener tape to form the stop members. Apparatus for forming the above described slide fastener including a support block having parallel channels for receiving separate slide fastener tapes, a forming anvil having a pair of spaced legs movable in the channels to capture the terminal fastener elements in cavities therein, a source for supplying ultrasonic energy to the forming anvil to reduce the size of the terminal fastener elements, a forming block supporting the separated slide fastener tapes adjacent cavities defined therein by another forming anvil, a forming member engaging the forming block to move the forming block relative to the other forming anvil and shear blanks of fusible material in the cavities, and a source for supplying ultrasonic energy to the forming member to fuse the blanks onto the slide fastener tapes to form separate stop members.

United States Patent Moertel et al.

[ June 27, 1972 [54] SLIDE FASTENER STOP ASSEMBLY [72] Inventors: George B. Moertel, Conneautville; James R. Wilson, Conneaut Lake, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Textron Inc., Providence, RI.

[22] Filed: w May 4, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 34,340

1,423,000 11/1965 France ..24/205.1l

Primary Examiner-Bernard A. Gelak Attorney-Meech & Field [57] ABSTRACT A slide fastener having terminal fastener elements reduced in size relative to the remaining fastener elements and two stop members adjacent the terminal fastener elements, each stop member being formed from a mass of fusible material fused onto a slide fastener tape, the reduced terminal fastener elements accommodating the diamond of a slider when the slider engages the stop members to prevent splay of the slide fastener tapes. A method of forming the above described slide fastener including supporting a slide fastener chain to expose the terminal fastener elements, reducing the size of the terminal fastener elements, and fusing a mass of fusible material onto each slide fastener tape to form the stop members. Apparatus for forming the above described slide fastener including a support block having parallel channels for receiving separate slide fastener tapes, a forming anvil having a pair of spaced legs movable in the channels to capture the terminal fastener elements in cavities therein, a source for supplying ultrasonic energy to the forming anvil to reduce the size of the terminal fastener elements, a forming block supporting the separated slide fastener tapes adjacent cavities defined therein by another forming anvil, a forming member engaging the forming block to move the forming block relative to the other forming anvil and shear blanks of fusible material in the cavities, and a source for supplying ultrasonic energy to the forming member to fuse the blanks onto the slide fastener tapes to form separate stop members.

10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDwnz 7 I972 3. 672 O 08 sum 1 or 3 FIG. 2

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George B. Moertel Jam R. Wilso BY aia v ATTORNEYS PATENTEUJUHZY m2 3. 572.008

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Geo rge B. Moerfel James R. Wilson BY Maw ATTORNEYS P'ATIZNTEDJum m2 saw a or a INVENTORS. George B. Mo'er'rel Jo es R. Wilson B M a M ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention pertains to slide fasteners and more particularly to slide fasteners having fastener elements formed from a continuous filament of deformable material and method and apparatus for forming a top portion for such slide fasteners.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is customary to provide end stops for slide fasteners; that is, a bottom stop for limiting opening movement of a slider and a top stop for limiting closing movement of the slider. The bottom stop for many applications is not externally visible after installation in a garment and is normally installed in a garment where the material is joined such that the bottom stop may have a variety of shapes without irritating the wearer of the gannent, without adversely affecting its functional requirements and without hampering installation in a garment. Top stops, however, are relatively prominent and visable after installation in garments and must be precisely positioned with respect to the slide fastener to permit separation thereof.

In the past, a particular problem has been encountered in the top portion adjacent the top stop in that when the slider is positioned to engage the top stop the diamond of the slider is disposed between terminal fastener elements such that the upper ends of the slide fastener tape extending above the top stop are splayed. This splay is highly undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint and causes difficulties in installation of the slide fastener in a garment. These difficulties are accentuated as progress is made in the development of new techniques for quickly and automatically securing slide fasteners to materials, such as, the electrostatic methods now being incorporated into mass production lines.

Top stops for slide fasteners are conventionally made of bands of metal or other material, which bands are folded upon themselves and around cords on either side of the slide fastener tapes to which the fastener elements are attached. Such top stops have the disadvantages of being relatively difficult and expensive to form on the slide fasteners, and furthermore are unattractive as viewed from the exterior side of the slide fastener and are irritating to the wearer of the garment on the interior side of the slide fastener.

With the advent of slide fasteners utilizing fastener elements of filamentary plastic material, attempts have been made to provide top stops of similar plastic materials to reduce assembly and material costs as well as to permit dying of the top stops for aesthetic purposes. Such attempts have not met with success in that they have normally required the positioning of a bar of plastic material across the terminal fastener elements, which bar of material is fused with the tape and the fastener elements and then cut to provide two separate stop members. Prior art methods and apparatus for fusing such material along with the severing step have caused the final product to have considerable flash and jagged edges which require polishing or manual finishing prior to installation in a garment.

In order to permit installation of slide fasteners in a garment, it is normally required that the tape area above the top stop be flexible to permit folding of the tape during installation. It is accordingly, extremely desirable to have the upper edge of the top stop well defined; however, prior art top stops made of plastic material have not provided such definition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to construct a slide fastener that has a well'defined top stop, is easily and simply manufactured and does not cause the upper ends of the slide fastener tape to splay.

The present invention is summarized in a slide fastener and method and apparatus for forming same, the slide fastener being generally characterized in a tape carrying fastener elements thereon, the tape having a top portion attached to terminal elements of the fastener elements; a top stop secured to the top portion of the tape adjacent the terminal elements; and, a slider receiving the fastener elements to control interengagement thereof and having a diamond disposed adjacent the terminal elements when the slider is limited in movement by engagement with the top stop, the terminal elements being reduced in size relative to interengaged ones of the fastener elements whereby the diamond of the slider is accommodated without causing the tape to splay.

Another object of the present invention is to form a top stop for a slide fastener by fusing separate masses of material thereto.

A further object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the terminal fastener elements of a slide fastener such that the upper tape ends of the slide fastener are not splayed when the slide fastener is closed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of forming the top portion of a slide fastener in a simple and expeditious manner.

A still further object of the present invention is to construct apparatus for forming separate top stop members for a slide fastener by separately fusing each stop member adjacent terminal fastener elements.

The present invention has another object in the construction of apparatus for deforming terminal fastener elements of a slide fastener to accommodate the diamond of a slider.

A further object of the present invention is to utilize ultrasonic energy to fuse top stop members onto a slide fastener tape and to deform terminal fastener elements of the slide fastener to reduce their size.

Some of the advantages of the present invention over the prior art are that the top portions of the slide fasteners are inexpensively and quickly formed by methods susceptible to mass production, that damage to the slide fastener tape during forming of the top stop is obviated, that no finishing or manual work is required for the top stop, that the surfaces of the top stop are smooth without jagged edges, and that the upper ends of the slide fastener tapes are not splayed when the slide fastener is closed.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a slide fastener having a top portion formed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged broken front elevation of the slide fastener of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation, partially in section, of apparatus for deforming the terminal fastener elements of a slide fastener.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation, partially in section, of the apparatus of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view in broken perspective of apparatus for forming a top stop in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation partially in section of the apparatus of FIG. 6 during an initial forming step.

I FIG. 9 is a side elevation partially in section of apparatus of FIG. 6 during a final forming step.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A slide fastener in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and includes a pair of woven tapes l0 and 12 having thickened cord portions 14 and 16, respectively, running longitudinally along the inner edges thereof. A plurality of fastener elements 18 and a plurality of fastener elements 20 are secured to cords l4 and 16, respectively, and are made of a continuous filament of deformable, plastic material such as nylon. The filamentary fastener elements illustrated have a coiled configuration, and the edges of the coils of fastener elements 18 and 20 face each other and are adapted to be interengaged by means of a slider 22. The present invention is not limited to the specific configuration of the filamentary fastener elements illustrated but rather may be utilized with filamentary fastener elements having a ladder-like configuration or other fastener elements made of a material which can be easily deformed or reduced in size.

A top stop for the slide fastener includes a pair of stop members 24 and 26 which are substantially identical in construction and are formed on opposite sides of the slide fastener. Each of stop members 24 and 26 is formed of a mass of precisely defined fusible material having dimensions commensurate with the dimensions of slider 22 to prevent movement of the slider beyond the stop members. Stop members 24 and 26 are illustrated as being disposed on the same side of the slide fastener as the pull of the slide, that is, the exterior side of the slide fastener; however, the stop members may be formed on the interior side of the slide fastener with equally acceptable results.

Slider 22 has an upper wing portion 28 having transverse downwardly extending marginal flanges 30 on either side thereof, and a pull 31 engages the slider at the upper wing portion, as is conventional. A lower wing portion 32 has transverse upwardly extending marginal flanges 34 on either side thereof aligned with flanges 30. The marginal flanges 30 and 34 are disposed at the rear of the slider and are vertically spaced to permit tapes and 12 to move freely therethrough. An upright post forming a diamond 36 is disposed at the front of the slider and interconnects the upper and lower wing portions 28 and 32. The diamond 36 of the slider has a V-configuration with the point thereof disposed in the longitudinal center of the slider to define first and second channels around the diamond at the front of the slider, which channels merge at the rear of the slider such that interengagement of the fastener elements may be controlled by movement of the slider.

Stop members 24 and 26 act to limit closing movement of slider 22 by having a width in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the slide fastener greater than the distance between the longitudinal center of the slider and the slightly curved front ends of flanges 30 and 34. Thus, the width of the stop members 24 and 26 is sufficient to prevent the stop members from moving through the slider; and, accordingly, when the inner edges of the stop members are adjacent the diamond, the outer edges of the stop members abut the front edges of flanges 30 and 34 to limit movement of the slider. Furthermore, the thickness of stop members 24 and 26 is greater than the space between flanges 30 and 34 such that the stop members cannot move through the slider as do tapes 10 and 12.

The terminal or end elements of fastener elements 18 and are reduced in size to accommodate diamond 36 of slider 22, as best illustrated in FIG. 2. More specifically, terminal elements 38 and 40 of fastener elements 18 and terminal elements 42 and 44 of fastener elements 20 do not extend from cords 14 and 16, respectively, into the gap therebetween to the extent that the remaining fastener elements in the central portion of the slide fastener extend into the gap. Terminal element 38 is larger than terminal element 40, and similarly terminal element 42 is larger than terminal element 44 such that straight lines abutting the peripheries of terminal elements 38 and 40 and terminal elements 42 and 44 have a V-configuration corresponding to the V-configuration of the rear tapered edge of diamond 36. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when slider 22 is at its uppermost position engaging stop members 24 and 26, the reduced size of the terminal elements permits tapes 10 and 12 to extend beyond the upper edge of the slider without splay.

Apparatus for reducing the size of the terminal fastener elements is illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 and includes a support block 46 having longitudinal channels 48 and 50 therein arranged in parallel spaced relation. Channel 48 is a narrow slot terminating in rounded shoulders 52 and 54 of a wide mouth 56 which communicates with an upper edge of support block 46. Similarly, channel 50 is a narrow slot terminating in rounded shoulders 58 and 60 of a wide mouth 62 communicating with the top surface of support block 46.

Separate halves of the slide fastener are vertically supported in channels 48 and 50 such that tapes l0 and 12 extend into the narrow slots and cords 14 and 16 rest on the rounded shoulders in mouths 56 and 62, respectively, to project the fastener elements towards the top of support block 46 and expose the terminal elements.

A forming anvil 64 in the form of an ultrasonic horn has legs 66 and 68 depending in spaced parallel relation from a support member 69, and legs 66 and 68 have a width less than the width of mouths 56 and 62 so as to be movable therein. Legs 66 and 68 have flat bottom surfaces 70 and 71 with parallel side walls extending transversely therefrom, respectively; and, pairs of generally V-shaped cavities 72, 73 and 74, 75 are disposed in bottom surfaces 70 and 71, respectively, at an angle to the side walls. The angular orientation of the cavities corresponds to the helical angle of the coiled fastener elements 18 and 20, as best illustrated in FIG. 6. Cavities 72 and 74 are larger than cavities 73 and 75 and are utilized to form terminal elements 38 and 42 while cavities 73 and 75 are utilized to form terminal elements 40 and 44. Forming anvil 64 is connected with a source of ultrasonic energy 76; and, as will be explained in more detail hereinafter, anvil 64 is pressed against cords 14 and 16 and the terminal fastener elements are captured in the cavities while ultrasonic energy is applied thereto to fuse the material of the terminal elements to cause them to assume the shape of the cavities and be reduced in size.

Apparatus for forming the top stop is illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 and includes a forming block 78 having a base 80 and a top plate 82 secured thereto. Base 80 has a square channel 84 cut therethrough, and a pair of stock guides 86 and 86' are disposed therein. Guides 86 and 86 have flat inner surfaces 88 and 88 spaced from each other in a forming area 90, and longitudinal bores 91 and 91 extend through guides 86 and 86' to provide channels for supplying strips of stock 92 and 92' of a fusible material, such as a thermoplastic material like nylon, to forming area 90. Slide fastener guide channels 93 and 93' extend through forming area transversely to bores 91 and 91, and channels 93 and 93' are formed with enlarged recesses 94 and 94 for receiving cords 14 and 16 of tapes 10 and 12, respectively. A central wall 96 extends through forming area 90 in a direction parallel to guide channels 93 and 93', and the cross sectional configuration of guide channels 93 and 93' are essentially the same as channels 48 and 50 of support block 46 to support slide fastener tapes l0 and 12 such that fastener elements 18 and 20 extend towards wall 96.

A central bore 98 is disposed in base 80 below forming area 90, and a bifurcated forming anvil 100 is movably disposed in bore 98 and has upwardly extending legs 102 and 104. The space between legs 102 and 104 corresponds to the width of wall 96 such that the legs 102 and 104 extend on either side of the wall. Forming anvil 100 has a cylindrical base which is secured in a support 106, and locating pins 108 are utilized to index the location of forming block 78 with respect to support 106. Bias springs 110 are coiled around each pin 108 and are mounted in compression between support 106 and forming block 78 such that in the absence of external forces, forming block 78 is spaced from an annular stop 112 disposed on the top of support 106 surrounding anvil 100.

Legs 102 and 104 of anvil 100 are identical; and, accordingly, only the structure of the forming end of leg 102 will be described with the identical structure of the forming end of leg 104 being given identical reference numbers with primes. The forming end of leg 102 has outer upstanding walls 114 and 116 each of which has an inner surface tapering upwardly and outwardly. An energy directing projection 118 is located centrally between walls 114 and 116 and has four tapered side surfaces tenninating in a small flat apex 120.

Legs 102 and 104 extend upwardly into the forming area 90, and the width of channel 84 corresponds to the width of legs 102 and 104 while the transverse dimensions of legs 102 and 104 correspond to the distance between surfaces 88 and 88' and central wall 96. Thus, it may be seen that legs 102 and 104 snugly slide between surfaces 88 and 88' and wall 96 to form cavities generally indicated at 122 and 122'.

A fusing member 124, in the form of an ultrasonic horn, has an annular support member 126 and is connected with a source of ultrasonic energy 128. A pair of legs 130 and 130' depend from support member 126 and have curved recesses 132 and 132' on the lower inner corners thereof. Legs 130 and 130 are spaced from each other to accommodate wall 96 and have vertical dimensions so as to engage slide fastener tapes l0 and 12 in block 78 when support member 126 contacts the upper surface of central wall 96.

A method of forming a slide fastener in accordance with the present invention will now be described utilizing the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 9. The slide fasteners are mass produced in continuous chains with the fastener elements made of a continuous coiled filament of deformable material, such as nylon, as previously described; and, the fastener elements are attached to cords 14 and 16 in any conventional manner. The continuous slide fastener chains are gapped at predetermined locations to provide slide fasteners of desire lengths; that is, some of the fastener elements are cut or punched from the tapes to provide cleaned and gapped areas at which the slide fasteners are adapted to be cut.

The above described steps in the mass production of slide fasteners are provided as a brief background leading to the present invention which is concerned with the forming of the top portion for such slide fasteners. Thus, it is clear that the present invention may be utilized with slide fasteners of any configuration produced in any manner and not merely with the specific slide fastener illustrated in the drawings.

The gapped continuous slide fastener chain .is separated, and the separate halves of the chain are supplied to support block 46 such that tapes and 12 are inserted in channels 48 and 50 to expose the terminal ones of fastener elements 18 and 20, respectively. With the exposed terminal elements properly positioned in channels 48 and 50 forming anvil 64 is lowered such that legs 66 and 68 move within mouths 56 and 62 until bottom surfaces 70 and 71 engage cords 14 and 16 to capture terminal elements 38, 40, 42 and 44 in cavities 72, 73, 74 and 75, respectively. Once the terminal elements are captured in the cavities, ultrasonic energy from source 76 is supplied to forming anvil 64 to fuse or melt the terminal elements to cause them to assume'the shape of the cavities; and, accordingly, the terminal elements are reduced in size relative to the remaining fastener elements.

After the terminal elements are deformed the chain is supplied to forming block 78 for forming of the stop members 24 and 26 thereon. The chain enters block 78 from the left hand side in guide channels 93 and 93' after tapes l0 and 12 have been rotated to substantially horizontal positions from the substantially vertical positions in support block 46. Cords 14 and 16 are received and supported in recesses 94 and 94', respectively, as the chain is slidably moved within forming block 78 to a position where terminal elements 40 and 44 are adjacent the left hand edges of cavities 122 and 122', respectively. Once the tapes are so positioned, predetermined amounts of strips of stock 92 and 92' are exposed beyond surfaces 88 and 88' and above the forming ends of anvil 100 which is in its withdrawn position, and fusing member 124 is lowered such that support member 126 engages wall 96 and moves forming block 78 relative to anvil 100 to abut stop 112 against the force from springs 110 to shear the strips of stock and dispose blanks of the fusible material in cavities 122 and 122' defined by the forming ends of anvil 100 in its extended position and surfaces 88 and 88'. Legs 130 and 130' engage slide fastener tapes l0 and 12 with recesses 132 and 132' accommodating cords l4 and 16, respectively, to precisely position the slide fastener and assure the forming of well defined stop members. Ultrasonic energy is supplied to fusing member 124, and the blanks are fused to tapes l0 and 12. The tapered side surfaces of upstanding walls 114, 114', 116 and 116' along with projection 11B localize the ultrasonic energy to precisely define the shape of stop members 24 and 26.

The fusing or melting of the blanks permits the fusible material to flow through interstices in the material of tapes 10 and 12 to provide a firm bond therebetween. The bond between the stop members and the tapes may be enhanced by utilizing threads made of a fusible material such as nylon to stitch or weave the fastener elements onto the tapes such that the blanks fuse with the threads.

Once the stop members have been formed, the chain is moved to the next gapped area adjacent reduced terminal elements to permit the forming of stop members for another slide fastener.

It will be appreciated that the stop members 24 and 26 are formed separately on the tape halves with well defined shapes to assure proper limiting of slider movement. No severing operations are required, and there are no projections or jagged edges thereby permitting the stop members to be formed on the interior of the slide fastener without irritating the wearer of a garment utilizing the slide fastener. The use of cavities for forming the stop members coupled with localization of the ultrasonic energy by the energy directing projections on the forming ends of anvil permits the stop members to have precisely defined shapes with no flash and prevents undesired melting or fusing of other components of the slide fastener. The well defined shapes of the stop members also enhance flexibility of the gapped upper tape edges to facilitate installation in a garment.

Of course, it will be appreciated that conventional indexing means will be utilized in automating the above described methods and apparatus for mass production.

Inasmuch as the present invention is subject to many variations, modifications and changes in detail, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A slide fastener comprising tape means carrying continuous fastener element means thereon, said tape means having a top portion and said fastener element means having an integral terminal portion adjacent said top portion;

top stop means secured to said top portion of said tape means adjacent said terminal portion; and

slider means receiving said fastener element means to control interengagement thereof, said slider means being formed to be limited in movement by engagement with said top stop means and having a diamond portion disposed adjacent said terminal portion when said slider means engages said top stop means,

said terminal portion being reduced in size transverse to the axis of said fastener and relative to interengaged elements of said fastener element means so as to provide a sumcient space wherein said diamond portion of said slider means is accommodated without causing said tape mean to splay. i

2. A The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein said fastener element means includes a continuous filament of deformable material.

3. The invention as recited in claim 2 wherein said top stop means includes a mass of fusible material fused to said tape means.

4. The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein said terminal portion includes a first terminal element and a second terminal element, said first terminal elemerit being smaller than said second terminal element and disposed between said top stop means and said second terminal element.

5. The invention as recited in claim 4 wherein said fastener element means is formed from a continuous filament of plastic material.

6. The invention as recited in claim wherein said continuous filament of plastic material has a coiled configuration with the coils forming said first and second terminal elements being reduced in size relative to the remaining coils.

7. A slide fastener comprising first and second tapes having first and second top portions,

respectively;

a first continuous plurality of fastener elements secured to said first tape and including first terminal elements disposed at said first top portion;

a second continuous plurality of fastener elements secured to said second tape and including second terminal elements disposed at said second top portion;

said first and second fastener elements each being made of a continuous filament of deformable material formed such that said first and second fastener elements are adapted to interengage;

first and second stop members attached to said first and second top portions of said first and second tapes adjacent said first and second terminal elements, respectively; and

a slider receiving said first and second fastener elements and adapted to control the interengagement thereof, said slider being formed to be limited in movement by engagement with said first and second stop members and having a diamond portion disposed between said first and second terminal elements when said slider engages said first and second stop members,

said first and second terminal elements being reduced in size transverse to the axis of said fastener and relative to the remainder of said first and second fastener elements, respectively, so as to provide a suflicient space wherein said diamond portion of said slider is received between said first and second terminal elements without causing said first and second tapes to splay.

8. The invention as recited in claim 7 wherein said first and second stop members are formed from separate masses of fusible material fused to said first and second top portions of said first and second tapes.

9. The invention as recited in claim 8 wherein said first terminal elements include first and second end elements, said first end element being smaller than said second end element and disposed between said first stop member and said second end element, and said second terminal elements include third and fourth end elements, said third end element being smaller than said fourth end element and disposed between said second stop member and said fourth end element.

10. The invention as recited in claim 9 wherein said diamond portion of said slider has a V-like configuration and said first, second, third and fourth end elements form a V-like configuration when said slider engages said first and second stop members.

t t i I? i 

1. A slide fastener comprising tape means carrying continuous fastener element means thereon, said tape means having a top portion and said fastener element means having an integral terminal portion adjacent said top portion; top stop means secured to said top portion of said tape means adjacent said terminal portion; and slider means receiving said fastener element means to control interengagement thereof, said slider means being formed to be limited in movement by engagement with said top stop means and having a diamond portion disposed adjacent said terminal portion when said slider means engages said top stop means, said terminal portion being reduced in size transverse to the axis of said fastener and relative to interengaged elements of said fastener element means so as to provide a sufficient space wherein said diamond portion of said slider means is accommodated without causing said tape mean to splay.
 2. A The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein said fastener element means includes a continuous filament of deformable material.
 3. The invention as recited in claim 2 wherein said top stop means includes a mass of fusible material fused to said tape means.
 4. The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein said terminal portion includes a first terminal element and a second terminal element, said first terminal element being smaller than said second terminal element and disposed between said top stop means and said second terminal element.
 5. The invention as recited in claim 4 wherein said fastener element means is formed from a continuous filament of plastic material.
 6. The invention as recited in claim 5 wherein said continuous filament of plastic material has a coiled configuration with the coils forming said first and second terminal elements being reduced in size relative to the remaining coils.
 7. A slide fastener comprising first and second tapes having first and second top portions, respectively; a first continuous plurality of fastener elements secured to said first tape and including first terminal elements disposed at said first top portion; a second continuous plurality of fastener elements secured to said second tape and including second terminal elements disposed at said second top portion; said first and second fastener elements each being made of a continuous filament of deformable material formed such that said first and second fastener elements are adapted to interengage; first and second stop members attached to said first and second top portions of said first and second tapes adjacent said first and second terminal elements, respectively; and a slider receiving said first and second fastener elements and adapted to control the interengagement theReof, said slider being formed to be limited in movement by engagement with said first and second stop members and having a diamond portion disposed between said first and second terminal elements when said slider engages said first and second stop members, said first and second terminal elements being reduced in size transverse to the axis of said fastener and relative to the remainder of said first and second fastener elements, respectively, so as to provide a sufficient space wherein said diamond portion of said slider is received between said first and second terminal elements without causing said first and second tapes to splay.
 8. The invention as recited in claim 7 wherein said first and second stop members are formed from separate masses of fusible material fused to said first and second top portions of said first and second tapes.
 9. The invention as recited in claim 8 wherein said first terminal elements include first and second end elements, said first end element being smaller than said second end element and disposed between said first stop member and said second end element, and said second terminal elements include third and fourth end elements, said third end element being smaller than said fourth end element and disposed between said second stop member and said fourth end element.
 10. The invention as recited in claim 9 wherein said diamond portion of said slider has a V-like configuration and said first, second, third and fourth end elements form a V-like configuration when said slider engages said first and second stop members. 